S. Amdt. #4073 Service Members and Communities Count Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation would mandate the Census Bureau to count all deployed service members at the base or port in which they resided prior to deployment.

In tabulating the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau counted service members deployed for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, at their home of record – an address given at the time of enlistment.

Unfortunately, such a method is not sufficient and disenfranchises many of our service members. In reports following the 2010 Census, the bureau stated, “only 59 percent of the 2010 Department of Defense records contained a home of record.”  The use of home of record, provides an inaccurate accounting of populations residing in communities surrounding U.S. military bases.

Amendment No. 4073 benefits thousands of U.S. service men and women by creating a consistent and logical method for counting service members deployed overseas in the U.S. Census at their residence at their last duty station.

“I believe that every deployed service member has a right to be counted by their government when a census is conducted,” Sen. Paul said. “The passage of this amendment will ensures that those who have given so much for our country will be recognized in the communities they live in.”

This legislation will have no effect on a service member’s tax, residence, or voting status; it will only affect counting for census purposes.